“I’ve been lucky to come out to a club who’ve embraced me as one of their own and I couldn’t ask for any more. I feel like I’ve been here my whole life.”

Tensions between players and the club board were evident and led to the departure of star players such as Glenn Stewart, who signed for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

“The fans aren’t stupid and they knew there was a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes,” he said.

“We were made to look a certain way and luckily for the club that side of the board has gone and there is no more a toxic environment and hopefully they can still be successful – but not as successful as us.”

The Sea Eagles are currently in a battle to hold on to playmaker Kieran Foran, but have withdrawn its $1 million per season offer to Daly Cherry-Evans after the 27-year-old failed to come up with a decision before his Monday deadline.